Tenant groups begin campaign to extend evictions ban

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A leading London tenants’ group has called for the eviction ban to be extended beyond the summer to give renters even more breathing space, echoing similar arguments by other local and national groups.

The Camden Federation of Private Tenants is urging the Government to take the temporary ban past 23^rd August and into the autumn.

Organiser Robert Taylor says: “The Government recently extended the ban by a further two months, but this is simply not enough, as we believe that the ban should continue until it has introduced legislation to permanently abolish Section 21 and ‘no fault’ evictions.”

According to the group, Camden’s renters pay an average of 59% of their income on rent.

Taylor tells LandlordZONE: “If the Government really wants to ensure fairness in the rental market, then it needs to give serious consideration to what we and others believe to be are very practical, sensible and reasonable demands.”

Other tenants’ groups such as Generation Rent haven’t publicly called for a further extension, but while they welcome the suspension of evictions over the summer, they still have concerns.

Director Dan Wilson says: “With holes in the housing safety net and much of the economy still in lockdown, millions of renters will get further behind on rent. The Government must use the time it has bought itself to develop a long-term solution to provide rent relief and end unfair evictions for good.”

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, adds that the Government’s announcement is just a stop-gap. She says: “It’s critical that Robert Jenrick uses this extension wisely to change the law and properly protect renters.”  

The Government has yet to confirm whether it’s going to follow the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee recommendation that once the courts re-open, they should be given discretion to dismiss Section 21 notices until 31^st December.

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LATEST: Councils reject landlord criticisms of evictions ban extension

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The Local Government Association (LGA) has rejected claims by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) that the evictions ban exposes victims of domestic violence and anti-social behaviour to more risk.

Since the NRLA story broke this morning, the LGA has issued a statement insisting that its members back the ban because police powers can still be used to evict perpetrators of domestic violence despite the evictions ban.

The NRLA claimed that landlords were ‘powerless to take action against tenants committing domestic abuse or making the lives of fellow tenants or neighbours a misery’ during the ban.

Ben Beadle, Chief executive of the NRLA, said earlier today that extending the evictions ban is not without victims and that it “leaves landlords powerless to tackle the kind of behaviour that causes untold suffering and hardship for many communities and tenants alike,” he said.

But Councillor David Renard, the LGA’s housing spokesperson, says he is pleased that the government is banning evictions until the end of August because it will “help to mitigate against the rising homelessness pressures that councils are under as a result of the pandemic”, he said.

“For victims of domestic abuse, other options including police powers, enable perpetrators to be removed from the home while the victims remains living there.”

A Domestic Abuse Bill is currently going through parliament which seeks to create a statutory definition of domestic abuse and establish a Domestic Abuse Commissioner.

The will stand up for victims and survivors, raise public awareness, monitor the response of local authorities, the justice system and other statutory agencies and hold them to account in tackling domestic abuse.

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One-beds for city rental yields

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The latest research by, Howsy, has found that one-bed properties are now proving the best financial investment when it comes to buy to let rental yields across the UK’s major cities. Previous research from Howsy found that three was the magic number for rental yields

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New Build Contracts?

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I recently agreed to purchase a new property with Miller homes and part of the agreed purchase price was some additional work. The contracts were signed on that basis.

5 days later the sales agent reverted to say this work was not possible and that I would have to buy the property as is or the contract would be cancelled.

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BREAKING: Rental market returns to pre-Covid activity levels after June ‘surge’

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Agents, landlords and tenants across the UK have responded to months of pent-up demand since restrictions were lifted on 13^th May, helping the private rental market achieve levels of activity not seen since pre-pandemic days.

This surge reached a peak on 2nd June, which was the busiest day for new tenancy applications, hitting 112% of the volumes recorded on the same day in 2019. Tenancy application are counted as renters who have offers accepted by landlords and then proceed to contracts and referencing.

Agents had their busiest day for completed lets on 10th June, when activity levels reached 124% of those recorded on the same day a year ago.

According to data from online lettings platform Goodlord, new applications now appear to have flattened out, averaging 97% of 2019 levels over the last fortnight.

Its Lettings Activity Tracker reveals that since 1st June, completed lets have been running at an average of 94% of 2019 levels, with numbers increasing significantly since 7th June.

On each day between 7th June and 13th June, completed lets were higher than the 2019 average. 

Tom Mundy, COO at Goodlord, says it’s been an incredibly busy few weeks for letting agents, landlords and tenants.

He adds: “They’ve risen admirably to the dual challenges of a surge in demand coupled with a totally new way of working and doing business.

“We are starting to see some much-needed stability and consistency in the market. Alongside this, we’re seeing agents embrace new tools, processes and strategies to ensure lettings can continue safely across the UK.”

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TECH: Landlord app is now free (but only if you’ve got a big portfolio)

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An app-based property management service backed by £7 million in investor funding and launched three years ago by a rising star of the tech world has begun offering itself for free to larger landlords.

Smaller landlords with a few properties are not included in the deal and will continue to pay a percentage-based property management fee. But larger landlords including build-to-rent firms can now use the service for free and Residently tells LandlordZONE that it will make money from referral fees it will earn from tenants who order broadband, removals and lifestyle services through its app.

Like many apps in this field Residently has digitised the rental process and offers landlords of all portfolio sizes a way to rent their homes out without face-to-face contact.

The app’s founder and CEO Tom Allason (pictured), who claims landlords can use it to rent out a property from virtual viewing to signed contracts within five minutes, now believes his tech’s time has come given the social distancing restrictions of Covid.

“In the last few months, we’ve watched the contactless rental process that we’ve built go from a ‘nice to have’ to an absolute necessity,” says Allason.

“Not to mention, it’s never been more important for renters to feel ‘at home’ and cared for. We hope that by making our platform free, we can partner with companies across the industry to support their residents during this time.”

Larger portfolio

Although the app is useful for landlords of all sizes, the company’s main focus is on larger portfolio and build-to-rent operators, letting agents and property managers.

Residently’s biggest customer is property management and rental giant Touchstone which manages over 20,000 properties withing the UK.

“Technology is crucial in creating the very best experience for customers, and we’ll help support this ground-breaking approach, ensuring a smooth, frictionless experience when renting a home,” says Helen Kings, Touchstone Managing Director.

Read more about proptech.

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Rental premium for outdoor space post lockdown

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Research from Belvoir, including the Q1 rental index, and a lockdown survey of franchisees, provides an insight into the changing world of tenant demands, with demand for outdoor space becoming more of a priority.

“The Belvoir Q1 rental index was prepared for us by industry expert Kate Faulkner

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Compounding the suffering of victims of domestic violence and anti-social behaviour

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The decision to extend the ban on evictions in rented housing will compound the suffering of victims of domestic violence and anti-social behaviour says the NRLA

As a result of the decision by the Government to prevent any evictions taking place until the end of August

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Extended evictions ban is bad news for victims of domestic abuse, is is claimed

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On June 5th the government announced that the evictions ban is to be extended by two months to August 25^th, although in practice this means many evictions will take until November to complete.

But the extension renders landlords powerless to evict tenants committing domestic abuse or disrupting the lives of fellow tenants and neighbours, the NRLA has claimed.

It is backing up its claims with recent research from the University of Bristol, which found that 38 per cent of victims of domestic abuse live in private rented housing, and that charity the Domestic Violence Helpline says it has seen a 66% increase in calls during the lockdown.

In cases of domestic violence, landlords will often end the tenancy agreement and offer a fresh one, for the same property, to the victim independent of the abuser.

“Extending the evictions ban is not without victims. It leaves landlords powerless to tackle the kind of behaviour that causes untold suffering and hardship for many communities and tenants alike,” says NRLA Chief Executive Ben Beadle.

“These cases must be given top priority by the courts and their processes enhanced to avoid further delay once they start to deal with possession cases.”

Beadle has also called for the courts to deal urgently and swiftly with cases concerning anti-social behaviour and domestic violence when they are allowed to begin to hear repossession cases.

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Exclusive: Build-to-rent landlord has developed ‘new kind of rental contract’

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Build-to-rent homes developer Moda Living has introduced a new form of rental contract to appeal to ‘generation rent’ tenants looking to flat-share.

It claims to have pioneered the ‘flexible sharing tenancy’ that enables tenants to rent a shared apartment without committing to a joint tenancy or paying a deposit.

Its reference process explores interests and hobbies to pair suitable tenants and has already had more than 300 enquiries for the concept at its new developments which are set to open across the UK in the next few years.

Moda has £850m worth of schemes already built or in the pipeline, which will eventually add up to more than 7,500 rent-only homes – all in cities to meet the needs of ‘generation rent’.

The build-to-rent landlord has just launched the final phase of its flagship 35-storey, 466 new home neighbourhood, Angel Gardens in Manchester, while two other developments – New York Square in Leeds and The Lexington in Liverpool – will follow, with other planned projects due for Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hove and Birmingham.

These should appeal to professionals, downsizers, sharers, empty nesters and young families who can use facilities including gyms and wellness zones, green spaces, roof terraces, communal lounges and workspaces included in the rental price.

MD Johnny Caddick says: “Consumer needs are changing – showing increased demand for workspace at home, greater connectivity and ample access to amenities. The pandemic has exacerbated these trends. Our Angel Gardens development is seeing increased interest because it was designed with these needs in mind from the outset.”

He adds that its MyModa app has had a big impact on resident morale and wellbeing with more than 30,000 hits during April and May, an increase of 550% on February, where residents have joined in a calendar of interactive events from work-outs to beer and wine tasting.

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